Texas TwoStep
by ScarlettLetters
Summary: The beginning of Julie and Tim. Two kids who just might make it work, that is if they can convince the rest of Texas. I used some story lines from Jump the Gun to start, but will diverge from there.
1. Sorry

Julie sits in Lois' car, her hand resting on the door, but she just can't seem to bring herself to open it. 

"Go on!" urges Lois. 

Julie summons up the strength to finally open the car door and walk up to Tim's house. She has come to apologize for everything that happened the other night. She can't believe she almost let that Riley guy get with her. She felt like such an idiot, but Tim had saved her from a potential nightmare. 

She might have been drunk, but she still remembered what it was like having Tim help her home. He practically carried her all the way into her room and Julie has thought about the spark she felt ripple through her body when he laid her down on the bed. Her arms were around his neck and she was looking into those eyes. They made her think of giant fields of waving green grass. She wanted to run through them, get lost in them. She'd almost kissed him when she heard her dad come into her room. Tim tried to explain, but the silent wall of rage that flew out of Eric Taylor was something neither she nor Tim wanted to mess with right then. Tim had left without a fight. Julie told herself she would clear things up in the morning, but when her dad came in and apologized to her she just couldn't do it. She felt like such a coward. Tim deserved better and she had worked up the courage to set things right after seeing him look at her today after practice. 

Oh, boy, Julie thought, this isn't going to be easy. Taking a quick glance back at Lois who was giving her the thumbs up, she raises her hand and knocks. It takes everything she has and when he opens the door she blurts out a lame "Hi."

He must hate me, Julie thinks, he's got every right to. 

"Hey." Tim mutters back, taking a quick swig of the beer he is holding in his hand. 

"Tim, I am so, so sorry!" Julie's apology spills out and she can't stop herself from sounding a little immature and whiny. She knows this was such a bad play on her part. Letting Tim take the blame and ruining his relationship with her dad and getting him kicked out of their house. She feels so guilty and he never sold her out. She's holding back tears. Just keep it together, Julie, she tells herself. 

"It's fine, Julie." 

"Really?" She asks expectantly.

"Really. Things are all good." He says with a smile while leaning on the door frame.

He looks so delicious. She is actually at a loss for words, which doesn't happen very often, when she forces out a question. "You and Billy are ok?" 

"Yep."

Feeling like more of an idiot than when she started she figured she better wrap this up. "OK, well, I, I just wanted to let you know how sorry I was. You were great. Really. I'm so glad you were there. I, I think that was a big mistake I barely avoided, thanks to you." 

"I think you are probably right and it's not a problem." 

His kindness was a nice surprise. Julie expected him to give her a hard time, blame her for making his already rough life a little rougher, but he hadn't. She could see a tenderness in his gaze that unsettled her. It was almost like he had missed her or something. Like the way he had looked at her earlier today. 

"Alright then, um, have a good night and I'll see you around, ya?" 

With a gentle nod Tim says, "See you around." 

Tim gives her a weak smile before starting to close the door. He sees Lois give him a quick wave as Julie walks to the car. Julie looks back at the closed door wishing she could be on the other side of it, with him. As she sits down and shuts the car door, Lois is all questions. 

"So, what did you say? What did he say? Is he mad? Does he hate you? What, come on, Julie, spill!"

"Calm down, Lo. It was fine. I told him I was sorry and he said we were cool." 

"Oh, wow. Tim Riggins is so cool. So HOT and so cool!" Lois giggles. 

With an eye roll Julie asks if she can just drive her home. It has been a long day and she just wants to go to bed. 

--/--/--/--/--/

Friday morning and Julie wakes up with a start. She has to tell her dad today that he has the wrong idea about the other night. This is going to be the hardest thing she has ever done in her life. Throwing off the covers, she gets out of bed to face the wrath of Eric Taylor. 

Somehow they managed to miss each other before school started and Julie knows she'll have to go the entire day feeling this awful. It probably won't be as awful as she'll feel after telling her dad, but she's tired of carrying the weight of this around and just wants to get it over with, even if that means she'll be menopausal before ever being allowed to go out again. She sees Tim in the halls and gives him a quick smile and a wave. He returns it with a head nod. Even that is just so damn sexy. Julie is confused about these feelings for him. She couldn't stand it when he first started living with them, but then he started to grow on her. Like a fungus, she chuckles to herself. 

Her thoughts turn serious again when she thinks about how he had protected her during the tornado. Something changed that day. She remembers how loud everything got and then the eerie silence right before Tim pushed her down and covered her with his body. She was huddled down on the floor, scared for her life and yet she felt safe. The warmth of his body and the strength of his arms wrapped around her made her feel the most protected she had ever felt. The crashing of glass and debris flew all around them, but after the storm blew over they, thankfully, were fine. Then she screwed it all up. After an exasperated sigh Julie goes on with the rest of her day at school dreading the conversation she needed to have later. 

It's just before her dad has to leave for the game and he's in talking to her mom. She knows she has to say something now or she never will. He tries to make a speedy exit, but she tells him that what she has to say is really important. Eric sees the need in her eyes so he stops. 

"It was all my fault, dad." She gets out between sobs. 

"What was, hun?"

"The other night. With Tim." 

"Go on." 

"I...I was drinking." 

Instant rage flashes across Eric's face. Through his clenched jaw he tells her to continue. 

"We were at a party and I had too much to drink. It was so stupid, I was flirting with this lame guy and Tim saved me. He brought me home and was only trying to help me into bed when you walked in. It wasn't what you thought it was." 

Julie sees the disappointment in Eric's eyes. She knows she has never screwed up this bad before and is just waiting for him to let her have it. His reaction surprises her. A simple curse and he walks out the door. She knows that's not the end of it, but there is a game to win, so first things first. 

--/--/--/--/--/

The game is so close. They keep trading scores with Larabee and Julie can see the excited tension building in her dad. Tim is having a great game and she swears she's seen him look up at her in the stand a few times. This means she's been looking at him the whole time too, but she hasn't minded that in the least. 

It's late in the fourth quarter and all of a sudden Tim has the ball and is running toward the end zone. They are going to win! Julie is jumping up and down screaming her head off when out of nowhere the other coach knocks Tim to the ground. A shocked silence hushes the crowd as Coach Taylor runs across the field to see what the hell was going on. 

Julie turns to her Tami. "Mom, what just happened?" 

Tami has a stunned look on her face. "I don't know, honey. I've never seen anything like that in all my days." 

Smash's mom says she hadn't either when someone behind them says that Dillon will win the game based on interference. Julie looks back as Tim is just getting up and the coaches are busy getting the guys off the field. It looks like a major brawl could erupt at any second. Those Larabee jerks had been pulling stunts the past few weeks and this was just too crazy. Tim seemed to be fine as her dad put his arm around him and walked with him to the locker room. The announcer quickly comes over the speakers saying that the game was over and Dillon will get the win. They ask everyone to clear the stadium.

"Honey," Tami coos, "I'm going to take Gracie Belle home and get her put down. Do you want to wait here for your dad or were you wanting to go out for a bit?" 

Her mom was still oblivious to what Julie had told her dad earlier so she thought she'd take advantage of the last little bit of freedom while she still had it. 

"Uh, yeah. I'll just hang out and get a ride home with dad." Julie replied. She wasn't insane, she knew going out would be suicide, but maybe she could get a chance to see how Tim was doing before all hell broke loose at the Taylor house. 

"Ok, well, just steer clear of the other team and I'll see you when you get home." 

Julie gave the baby a quick kiss on the cheek and walked down to where her dad and the rest of the team were parked and waited. She knew the players would be done before the coaches so she had some hope that her little plan would work. 

Matt Saracen came walking out of the locker room and saw Julie standing there. 

"Uh, hey. How's it going, Julie?" 

"I fine, Matt. How is it in there?" She asked inquisitively. 

"It's pretty weird. I guess we get the win, but man, how messed up was that?" 

"I know! We were all so freaked out when we saw it. Everyone was saying they'd never seen anything like that before. So...um, how, how is Tim?"

"Tim? Uh, fine I guess. Like do you mean if he is hurt or something?"

Julie instantly blushed and was so happy that it was fairly dark outside. The last thing she wanted was for Matt to figure out she had a crush on Tim. This conversation was one of the longest they'd had since they broke up and she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I mean that had to be a surprise. I was just curious." 

"He's cool. He's Riggins. Does anything phase that guy?" Matt chuckled.

Julie laughed in agreement. "Well, I'm sure you need to be getting back to your grandma and, um...Carlotta." It came out a little more bitchy than she intended and she saw him flinch a little.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Ok, well, I'll, I'll see you around Jules." 

Matt walked to his car and Julie shook her head at what a piece of junk it was. Then she thought that at least it was a car and based on what she knew was coming her way it would be more than she'd ever have. This humility thing was brand new for her and she wasn't quite sure she liked it. 

Players kept streaming out of the locker room but it felt like forever until she saw him. His hair was still wet from the shower, she hoped it was the shower, yuck, if not. Tim saw her and stopped. She gave him a smile and she saw something soften in him. He strolled over to where she was standing.

"Hey, Tim." 

"Julie."

"How are you? Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm good. He wasn't that big of a guy." He tried to joke. 

"No, really," she asked, reaching out and placing her hand on his arm "are you ok?"

He stood there for a minute just looking at her. What was he thinking? She could see him taking her in and she hoped that he knew she was really concerned for him. This was going to be a big deal and the last thing Tim liked was a lot of attention, unless it was of the female persuasion. 

"I guess some pretty serious stuff is going on with his wife. Coach talked to me and, I mean, the guy is a dick, but I feel bad for him, you know? His career is in the crapper." He sighed. 

Wow. He'd actually shared something with her. Tim Riggins was talking to her like a person. That had to be the most he'd ever said to her at one time that didn't include some gross punch line. 

"That's too bad. Um..." 

She got quiet. Julie looked up into Tim's face and met his eyes. They were staring down at her and she felt herself step toward him. She could smell him and he had indeed showered. The thought of his naked body being pelted with hot streams of water made her flush. She could feel his pulse under her hand and it felt like it was getting faster.

"Yeah, Jules?" He asked her softly.

He called her Jules. She really liked how that sounded coming from him. 

"I, uh, I told my dad." 

He raised his eyebrows and let out a low whistle. "And you're out here all by yourself, unguarded? Coach going soft?" 

She laughed, "No - I told him just before the game and he didn't have time to punish me, or tell my mom, so I thought I'd breathe some fresh air before the bars were installed on my windows." 

They were still standing very close to each other looking into each others eyes when her dad walked out. Thank goodness she had just taken her hand down or she was sure her dad would have had an aneurism right there. 

"Julie Taylor! Get in this car right now." Coach Taylor thundered. 

She turned a penitent smile up to Tim and said, "Well, I guess this is it." 

He gave her a grin and watched her get in the passenger seat of Coach's car. As they pulled out of the lot he raised a hand to wave and she touched the window with her fingertips to signal back to him that she saw. She didn't know if her dad was talking to her or not as all she could think about was she could still feel Tim's beating heart in the palm of her hand.

**AN**: This is my first attempt at writing. I'm a Tulie fan, so I don't know how much angst I'll include. Some, but not a lot! Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	2. Apology Accepted

Tim Riggins stood in the stadium parking lot watching the taillights of Coach's car disappear down the road. He shook his head at the thought of what was in Julie's future. Julie. Jules. A smile crept across his face. When she had shown up on his doorstep yesterday he'd seen something in her that he had been trying to avoid. She was hot. The girl had somehow wormed her way into his consciousness and now it was all he could do not to throw her up against a wall and explore all there was to her. That now seemed to be the last thing that could happen. Julie would be lucky to avoid having to wear an ankle monitor that tracked her every move. Tossing his bag over his shoulder he headed to his beat up Chevy. 

Starting the beast up he gave a quick thought to going to the party, but after the way the game ended, he really just wanted to kick back on his couch and down a few beers. People would want to talk about what happened and he'd rather avoid having to do that. He pulled up to the small ranch house he shared with Billy and saw that his brother was home. 

"Billy?" Tim called out as he came through the door.

"Bro! What the hell? How you doin, man?"

"Fine. It's fucked up, but I'm cool. The guy has some issues bigger than this going on, so...yeah...there any beer?"

"Yeah, yeah, man. I picked up a case on my way home." Billy got up and went to the fridge to grab Tim a beer and one for himself. Cracking them open the two brothers sat down in the living room and shared a few, turning their attention to the TV. The local news was playing footage of the hit. Tim sat there with a blank look on his face. Shit. This wasn't good.

"Think this will make SportCenter?" Billy laughed.

Tim didn't think it was so funny. "Turn it off, man."

Billy clicked off the TV and asked, "You hungry?"

Tim hadn't thought about it, but at the mention of food his stomach gave him the signal that it was indeed wanting some grub. Before he could respond there was a knock at the door. Tim hauled himself over to answer it and saw a grinning face through the glass. With a chuckle he opened the door.

"We come bearing gifts!" Jason Street exclaimed, holding a bag of Alamo burgers.

Herc rolled up beside him and brandished a large bottle of tequila. "This worm's got your name on it, Riggs!"

"Good to see ya, Six. Herc. Gifts are always welcome at the Riggins abode."

Tim got the guys in the house and they started chowing down on the burgers. Nobody mentioned the game, they just drank beers and did shots, yucking it up like guys do. Tim was glad for the distraction, but every so often his mind would drift to Julie. Flashes of the way her hair would catch the light when she flipped it over her shoulder, the shoulder that was dotted in the palest little freckles, or the way she bit her full bottom lip when she was concentrating on something. Those lips were a killer. He was surprised at himself, he hadn't realized he had been taking all those moments in. What the hell was going on?

"Riggins!"

Tim's head snapped back to the guys and Street was looking at him. 

"Yeah, Six?"

"It's your shot, man." Jason replied.

Tim picked up the bottle of tequila and took a slug. It burned going down, but felt good. He just wanted to pass out. Dealing with things wasn't his style and he was tired of his brain going places he didn't want it to go.

--/--/--/--/--/

The next morning Tim awoke on his bed fully clothed. At least Billy had the decency to pull off his boots. He saw a glass of water next to his bed and drank it down. His head felt like his brain was trying to escape out of his eyeballs. This wasn't going to be a good day. 

"Aspirin." Ouch, even the sound of his own voice was enough to make him lay back down.

Tim stumbled to the bathroom and threw on the shower. He tossed a few aspirin down his throat and chugged some more water while waiting until steam had filled the room. Climbing in, the hot water felt like salvation on his skin. He rested his head against the wall of the shower and let his mind go where it wanted. It wanted Julie. Good luck with that, he thought wryly. He was sure that Julie would be in lock down for the rest of her high school life. That wasn't even the biggest problem he saw to all of this. One vision loomed in front of him, an angry Coach Taylor. There was no way Coach would let a guy like him within 10 yards of his precious little girl. Julie was a prize, Tim knew that, he also knew that this was just impossible. He was tired of fighting. The Lyla situation had taught him that sometimes the odds were just too great. She had moved on, he hadn't realized he had too, but he wondered what the hell was wrong with him for jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Tim stood under the pounding water until he could feel the it go cold. Climbing out he grabbed a towel he hoped was somewhat clean. He had a forlorn thought that clean towels had never been an issue at the Taylor house.

--/--/--/--/--/

Tim had been camped out on the couch for most of the day when he heard a knock on the door. Billy was up grabbing a beer so he answered it.

"Hello, Billy. Is Tim around?" Eric Taylor inquired.

"Yeah, hey Coach Taylor. He's right here. Hang on a sec."

Tim got up and walked over to the door. "Coach."

"Tim. You got a minute? I'd like to speak to you."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Step outside, son."

As Tim walked outside into the bright light, he wished he had some shades. He hoped Coach couldn't see that he was fighting a massive hangover.

"I've come to apologize, Tim. Julie told me what happened and I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I know you tried to tell me, but I let my anger get the best of me. I'm truly, truly sorry. Will you accept my sincerest apology?"

Tim was stunned. In less than 48 hours two Taylors had stood at his door apologizing to him. It didn't usually happen this way.

"Of course, Coach."

"I know you were trying to do right by Julie. I appreciate that you cared and were there to stop her from making a mistake she'd regret. Someday I hope you'll understand what something like that means to a father."

The two men shook hands and Eric clapped Tim on the back. "Well, alright. Now I've been ordered by Mrs. Taylor to invite you and Billy over to Sunday dinner. She won't take no for an answer, so we'll see you both at six. No arguments."

Tim nodded his acceptance of the offer and said goodbye. He watched Coach Taylor walk to his car. The same car he'd watched Julie drive off in the night before. He remembered seeing her standing in the parking lot after the game and all the heaviness had left his body. The lights were shining down around her making her blond hair glow. Walking up to her was like walking into a new day. He could only see her. She had seemed so concerned about him. He wasn't used to someone caring about how he felt. As the Taylors left he saw her touch the window with her fingers. He still recalled what those fingers had felt like resting on his arm. Damn, he thought. This wasn't going to be easy.

--/--/--/--/--/

Sunday afternoon rolled around and Tim had managed to get a few loads of laundry done. He wanted to present a clean appearance at dinner that night. Billy was going to have to work so Tim had called up the Taylor house to let them know it was just going to be him showing up. He hated talking on the phone but hoped that maybe Julie might answer. 

"Hello?" Her soft voice said.

"Hey Julie, it's Tim."

He heard her take a small breath in and smiled as she responded with what seemed like happiness. "Hi, Tim. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let your mom know that Billy wasn't going to be able to make it tonight, he has to work."

"Oh, that's too bad. Um...are you still going to come?" 

He could hear the hope in her voice and it made his heart soar. Did she want to see him as badly as he wanted to see her? He shook his head clear, Christ, was he turning into chick?

"I'll still be there. Can't turn down Mrs. Taylor's fried chicken, now can I?"

Julie laughed. "No, I guess not."

There were a few moments of silence and he started to feel a little nervous. He wanted to ask about what had gone down at their house after the game, but didn't want to be too nosy about it.

"So, you survived?" He managed to get out.

"Uh, yeah...it was...intense, but um, they were actually kind of cool. I mean I'm grounded for practically forever, but they didn't freak out like I expected."

Tim heard Tami Taylor walk into the room and inquire who was on the phone. Julie explained about Billy and said a rushed "OK, well, we'll see you tonight," before hanging up.

Tim sat with the phone in his hand. He'd just talked to Julie Taylor on the phone and was giddy. It was confirmed, he had turned into a total schmuck. 

--/--/--/--/--/

Driving over to the Taylor house felt so natural, like his truck knew the way all on its own. Tim parked outside and hopped out. He had stopped at the market and bought a small bouquet of flowers. He had thought about his phone conversation with Julie earlier and was going to take a chance on this so he wanted to make a good impression. He had formulated a plan, now he just needed to see if she was willing to go along with it.

Coach Taylor opened the front door and saw a well-groomed Tim Riggins in front of him. He gave a quick glance at the flowers, chuckled, and welcomed the boy inside. Tami was in the kitchen getting some of the final touches ready for dinner when she saw the flowers in Tim's hand.

"Hi, Tim!" she said with a smile, "Oh my, those are just lovely."

"I wanted to show my appreciation for the invite to dinner."

"Of course, of course. It's our pleasure. Julie!"

Tim saw Julie come out of baby Gracie's room, carrying the infant. She looked gorgeous, Julie that is. The baby could only hope she would start to resemble her big sister before she got too old.

"Hey there, Gracie Belle." Tim grinned at the baby. He had to admit he missed the homely little tyke as much as he had anyone in the house. She gurgled in response to the attention and struggled in her sister's arms to go toward him.

"Hi." Julie said to him with a nervousness in her voice.

"Hey, Jules. How's it goin?"

"Julie, hun," Tami broke in, "could you come here please? Here, I'll take Miss Gracie. Hey, baby." she said giving her youngest daughter a quick kiss on the cheek while taking her out of Julie's arms. "I'm just going to go outside and help your dad with the BBQ. Hope you don't mind not getting fried chicken, Tim, but it was so nice outside I thought grilling would be better."

"Nah, that's fine. Mrs. T."

"OK, well I'll just be a second. Julie, could you please put these beautiful flowers Tim brought into some water and finish setting the table?"

"Sure, mom." Julie replied watching her mom go out to the back yard.

Tim saw her smirk as she picked up the flowers and reached into the cabinet for a vase.

"Flowers, huh?" She shot at him.

"Well, I wanted to make a good impression." He said nervously.

He could see her smile and watched as she delicately arranged the flowers and sat them on the table.

"They're nice." She stated.

Tim shrugged the compliment off. They stood there looking awkwardly at each other until the silence was broken by the sliding glass door.

"Soup's on!" Eric called out.

Dinner went well and conversation seemed to flow naturally. Eric and Tim started to talk about the Panther's path to the playoffs, being careful to avoid the topic of Friday's game and what happened with Larabee's coach, before Tami laid down the law of no football talk at the table. Tim had absentmindedly sat next to Julie, just like when he lived there. Halfway through the meal he realized she had moved her leg a little closer to him so he followed her lead and moved his so it rested against hers. Feeling the heat from her body was like electricity. He felt his pants go tight. Great, I'm popping wood, he thought, how old am I, 13?

Just as they were finishing up Tim caught Coach's eye. He saw him staring him down. Awesome. He knows I've had a boner this whole time and is going to tear my head off. Instead Tim was issued a challenge.

"Think you can beat an old man at ping pong?" Eric let out in a menacing drawl.

"I don't think, sir. I know." Tim replied back with all the confidence a starting fullback for the Dillon Panthers should have.

"Well, alright, son! Let me go clean up the grill real quick and I'll meet you in the garage."

Tami laughed at their bravado. "I'm going to give this little sweetie her bath and get her ready for bed. Julie," she said with a knowing look, "you got the clean-up out here, right?"

"Yeah, mom. I got it." Julie replied back with a grimace.

Tim figured this had to do with the punishment doled out to her from her little adventure, so he stayed out of her way while she started cleaning up. After a minute he decided it was now or never so he picked up a few plates from the table and brought them into the kitchen. As she thanked him and reached out to take them, he sat the dishes on the counter. He grabbed her hand and drew her roughly into him. The shock and surprise in her eyes melted away into something resembling willingness. He had been dying to hold her all night. As he held her close and looked down into her hazel eyes he thought, God, she's beautiful. Her full lips were just aching to be kissed, it took everything he had to resist them, instead bringing his mouth down to her ear. He could smell the sweetness of her shampoo and feel the velvet of her skin next to his face. He knew he could spend hours resting here.

"Those flowers are for you." He gently whispered.

With the sound of the sliding glass door opening Tim quickly broke away from her.

"You ready, Coach?" he called out.

"Better bring your A game, boy!" Eric responded.

Tim took a quick look back at Julie who was still standing where he had left her speechless. She glanced his way and he gave her a quick wink before heading to the garage. Phase one, complete, he thought with a smile.

**AN:** Thanks so much for all the kind reviews and story adds! I'm having a good time with this. 


	3. Buzz

Julie Taylor stood paralyzed in her kitchen. Her mind was trying to process what had just happened. Had Tim Riggins really just admitted to buying her flowers and then winked at her? Had she really been wrapped in his arms, feeling his warm breath on her neck! Oh my God, she thought, OH MY GOD! She got all girly like a 16 year-old is wont to do and turned around to finish the dishes. She was doing a little dance and singing a song to herself when her mom walked in.

"Hey, honey," Tami remarked while throwing her arm around Julie's shoulder, "it looks like you have everything in here handled." 

"Yeah, mom, I'm good...almost done. Did you get Gracie down OK?" Julie responded, trying to act as normal as she could when _feeling_ normal was as far away as it was.

"I did, the little angel, thanks for asking. Your dad and Tim still battling it out in the garage?"

"I think so," Julie replied nonchalantly. She knew he was still out there, but didn't want to seem that interested to her mom.

"Alright, well I'm going to go take a bath and relax a little bit before bed, but I wanted to let you know I really appreciate you taking your punishment with such maturity. You were really nice to Tim tonight too. It was good having him back over for dinner, wasn't it?"

"Uh, yeah. It was fine." It was so much more than fine! Julie thought back to how she had maneuvered her leg closer to his under the table. She was hoping he would respond how he did and was surprised she was able to concentrate at all during the rest of the meal. She was still trying to grasp that she and Tim Riggins were flirting with each other. A grin spread across her face and she almost giggled.

"I'm just going to say good night to them and then I'm heading to the tub, alright sweetie?"

"Great, mom. Enjoy your soak. I just need to wipe down the table then I'm going to finish up some pre-calc."

Tami leaned in for a hug and kissed Julie on her forehead. "Good night, Jules."

"Night, mom."

--/--/--/--/--/

Julie was sitting at the table absentmindedly staring at the flowers, having forgotten about the homework in front of her. She snapped back to reality when she heard the door from the garage open.

"We could go best three out of five, if you're not too tired, Coach." 

"No, no...you won, fair and square. I concede." Eric cried, throwing his arms up in defeat.

They both noticed Julie sitting at the table and Tim could tell she had been looking at the flowers. She saw that he looked pleased.

"Well, I should probably head on home now." Tim offered.

"Yeah, it's getting late. Get a good night's rest and I'll see you at practice tomorrow. We have a big week in front of us." Coach responded.

"Yes, sir. Thanks again for dinner and the...ah, workout." he joked. 

"Night, smart ass." Coach threw back at him with a grin as he walked into the kitchen.

"Night, Julie." Tim said looking intently at her.

"Goodnight." Julie said returning his gaze then watching him turn and leave the house with a quick stride. 

Julie's dad sat down next to her at the table and took a drink of his beer. He was staring at her and giving her one of his patented 'here comes a speech' looks. "You did good, honey. I'm proud of you."

Julie shot him a quizzical look and raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm serious." He continued, "You were polite and social and cleaned up without a fuss. I appreciate you putting in the effort to make tonight a pleasant night."

"Sure, dad."

"Mom in the tub?" 

"Mmhmm." Julie nodded.

"I'm going to watch some game tape, so why don't you go finish this up in your room." He gestured to her homework.

Julie gathered her books up and they said a quick goodnight. Eric picked up his beer and sat down with the remote and his notebook and turned on the TV. Julie started heading toward her room and quickly returned to the table for the vase of flowers. They were spending the night with her.

--/--/--/--/--/

Waking up the next morning Julie felt an excitement she hadn't felt in a while and the first thought that ran through her mind was Tim. This had been such a weird weekend and last night's exchange had only made it that much stranger. She hustled into the bathroom to shower before her dad got in there, she wanted to spend some extra time getting herself ready today. 

Standing in front of her closet, wrapped in a towel, Julie flipped through her clothes. Nothing seemed right. She wanted him to notice her, but not notice that she'd done anything too noticeable. Ohh, this was so frustrating. She finally grabbed a cute jean skirt and a peasant top layered over a tank. She was learning how to find tops that didn't accentuate her new found fullness, but she thought now, maybe she wanted to do just that. "You're not a rally girl, Julie!" she told herself in the mirror. Seriously, what was she thinking? There had to be some mistake. Tim Riggins could not be interested in her. 

--/--/--/--/--/

Julie got out of her dad's car and started walking toward the entrance of the school, her bag slung over her shoulder. She tried not to look around for him, but saw him pull into the parking lot and jump out of his truck. Julie did a quick check of her appearance and hoped she could keep it together. As he strolled up to her she felt herself go a little weak. 

"Mornin', Julie."

"Hi, Tim."

They fell into an easy stride and walked into the building together. Julie could feel his arm swinging back and forth as he walked. Their fingers brushed a few times and there was some noticeable interest in this pairing by the buzz that followed them down the hall. Tim stopped where Julie's locker was and turned to her.

"See you later?"

"Yeah, for sure." She replied looking up at him. She had never wanted someone to kiss her so badly. He gave her a sly grin. This information obviously wasn't news to him.

Julie watched him stroll down the hall of Dillon High. Some of the other players went up to him and they moved on in a pack. She turned around to open her locker when she heard someone come up behind her.

"What in the hell was that?" 

Julie turned to see her friend Tyra standing there with an indignant look on her face.

"What?" Julie offered lamely.

"What! Really? You're going to play that with me?" Tyra laughed. "Oh honey, you are like one of those books you always have your nose in. Totally readable."

"It was nothing. We just walked in together."

Tyra threw her head back and laughed in Julie's face. "Sure, OK. It was nothing." Calling back over her shoulder as she headed off to her class she added, "'Nothing' sure got you nice and flushed though, didn't it?" 

Julie took a quick peek at herself in the mirror she had hanging up inside her locker. Great. Just great. She was blushing like a whore in church. The bell sounded and she headed off to her homeroom. 

--/--/--/--/--/

Lunch mercifully came and Julie sat down with her tray across from Lois. All of this stress had her famished but she couldn't bring herself to eat anything.

"Oh my god, Julie. What's going on? I was too scared to call your house and you didn't text or email. I figured your parents murdered you and buried your body in the yard or something when you told them about everything."

Julie began to wonder if Lois was always this dramatic. "Things went better than I expected, but" She knew she wasn't ready to talk about anything related to the developments with Tim, but her best friend deserved know that they wouldn't be spending any time together outside of school in the near future. "I'm majorly grounded."

"What's that mean?" Lois inquired.

"No phone calls, no Internet, no friends over, no going out unless it's with my mom to games or something team related – gotta have a united Taylor front supporting the Panthers, right?" She offered up with an eye roll. Continuing on she added "I am only allowed to go to dance practice and then straight home. Serious restriction until further notice."

"Oh that sucks, Julie." Her friend added supportingly.

Julie's attention was diverted to the door of the cafeteria. He was standing there looking her way and Matt and Smash were standing with him. Tim directed them to a table near where Julie was sitting and positioned himself so he could look at her. They gazed at each other to the obvious amusement of those seated around them.

"Julie. Julie. Hello...Julie? What are you doing?" Lois followed her eyes and quickly whipped her head back around. "Are you kidding me!" She squealed.

Julie came back into reality and knew some attention had been drawn their way. She saw Matt looking back and forth between them and the whole time Tim just sent her a look that caused her whole body to quiver. It was those damned green eyes!

"Julie, oh my god, are you flirting with Tim Riggins?" Lois croaked.

It was fairly common knowledge that Lois thought Tim was to die for, but Julie knew there wasn't a chance in hell that would ever work so she hadn't felt guilty over her developing feelings for him.

"I don't know what we're doing. Honestly, Lo." Julie stated looking up at her friend with confusion.

"Well, he certainly seems to be interested in you. I don't think he's even blinked since sitting down." 

Julie managed a weak smile at that. Glancing back up at Tim she saw he was still giving her a gentle gaze. She smiled brightly at him. She wanted him to know that his attention made her feel good and it did. While she was totally confused she was still on cloud nine. 

The bell rang not long after that and they got up to dump their trays. Tim sauntered over and took hers. "Walk you to class?" He asked.

Julie turned to Lois with a stunned look on her face. Lois urged her to say something so she replied with a quick "Yeah, great."

The pair walked out of the cafeteria with the entire room watching them.

--/--/--/--/--/

Julie could not believe this was happening. Tim Riggins, THE Tim Riggins was walking her to class. 

"So, uh, how are you?" She asked. She knew by trying to fill the silence her nerves were showing, but she couldn't help herself. 

"I'm good, Jules. You?" He replied with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm good too." She knew she was blushing all the way down to her toes. They walked a bit more in silence, but found a comfortable pace.

"Your dad filled me in on you being grounded and all." 

"Really? Yeah...I'm pretty much in social Siberia." She regretted saying that the second it came out. What if he lost interest in her because dating (she wanted to date Tim Riggins!) would be impossible?

They walked up to her classroom and he leaned her against a wall. He brushed a lock of hair from her shoulder and rubbed his finger along the sleeve of her blouse. His hair was falling into his eyes and Julie felt like she was looking into the face of a Michelangelo sculpture. For the second time today the urge to kiss him was almost too much to handle.

He gave a quick glance around and smiled down at her, "I wouldn't be too worried about that."

AN: Thank you so much for reviewing this! 


	4. Gaining Access

Tim stood in the locker room changing for practice when Matt Saracen walked up to him. As he pulled his pads over his shoulders he gave Matt a glance.

"Uh, hey, Tim."

Tim gave him a quick head nod. "How goes it, Saracen?"

"I, uh..." Matt struggled to find the words. 

Nothing new, Tim thought as he looked at Matt, knowing full well what this was about...Julie. Today had been a good day in old Timmy Riggins' book so he wasn't about to let this kid piss on his parade and there was no way Tim was going to let Matt off easy by doing the talking for him. 

"Uh, can I ask you a, a question?"

"What's up, QB1?"

"Are you, um, you know, uh...interested in Julie Taylor?"

Tim looked at his quarterback. Huh, he actually got it out of his mouth. Riggins was impressed, he had been sure that Julie's ex would wimp out. From the look of him Matt seemed surprised he'd managed to ask as well. Tim knew that Matt had taken notice of the glances he gave Julie during lunch and saw them walk out together. He hadn't given Matt's feelings any consideration then and wasn't about to start.

"I'll tell you this much," Tim said throwing his jersey over his head, "she's sure something to be interested in." He shut his locker and headed out the door to the field without looking back. 

--/--/--/--/--/

Practice was a killer. Coach was still fired up about the way the game on Friday went down and he wanted to ensure that this week's game would be a rout. Coach had touched briefly on it at this morning's team meeting and said that there would be no more talk of it. It was over, they had to keep their eyes on the road ahead if they wanted to make the playoffs. That suited Tim just fine. He had been dodging questions about it from people all day, well that is until he decided to step up his pursuit of Julie Taylor and walked her to class after lunch.

As Tim was running stairs, always those fucking stairs, his mind went back to seeing her today. His heart lurched into his throat when he saw those lean dancer's legs of hers while pulling into the parking lot. His heart wasn't the only thing that had gotten a rise. He did have to admit his favorite part of her anatomy was a little north of her waist, but damn, her legs were mighty fine as well. He had enjoyed watching her at lunch too. Her innocence was such a turn on, how could he not stare? Walking her to class had been an impulse move, but it had paid off. He knew he had her when he looked down into her face. It was like she had a flashing neon sign on her forehead that said "KISS ME NOW!" Tim was no dummy, he was going to take this girl to the height of anticipation before giving her everything she wanted and do everything he wanted to her.

With the drill finally over Tim started heading to the showers when Smash caught up to him. Tim wasn't particularly fond of Brian Williams, but as a co-captain he had to be cool with him, up to a point. 

"So, Riggs?"

Tim just looked at the running back with his best blank stare.

"Dude, don't go all 'Riggins' on me. Smash knows what you're up to."

"Don't know what you're talking about, Smash." Tim shot back.

"Uh-huh, playa. I'm sure you got no idea about little Miss Juu-lee Taylor." 

Tim stopped his walk and looked at Smash like he wanted to beat him into the ground. "You got something to say?"

"Be cool, man. I just wanted to say that you were very smooth today. Very smooth indeed. That girl was all kinds of worked up over your hick country ass. A bold choice, but I got to give you props." Smash chuckled to himself and did a quick look to see who was around. "I mean it ain't every guy with a rep like yours that would target the coach's fine daughter."

Tim figured defusing this right away was his best bet. "It's not like that. She's a cool girl."

"OK, OK. Play it that way, 33. Just know, eyes are on you." Smash shot him an 'I'm watching you' sign and Tim knew he meant. Dillon High wasn't big enough for Tim Riggins to pursue Julie Taylor without there being some talk.

--/--/--/--/--/

The next few days passed with some additional glances and a few brief chats with the object of his affection, but Tim had dialed back his assault a bit. If he wanted this to work out according to his plan he had to be smarter than his desire, which for him had always been a problem. He knew his next step had to be getting time alone with Julie and thanks to her current state of imprisonment that meant getting back into the Taylor house. Tim saw Mrs. Taylor entering her office and thought it was time to put this step of the plan into action.

"Hey, Mrs. T." Tim drawled standing in her door.

"Tim! How are you?" Tami Taylor smiled back at him.

"I'm good. I just wanted to thank you again for dinner the other night."

"Oh, you know it was no problem at all, Tim. We were glad to have you."

Tim stood there for a minute looking down at the floor. Come on, man, he told himself, you can do this.

"Was there something else you wanted, hun?"

"Yeah, actually. Uh, before, when I was staying with y'all, Julie...she had been helping me with some classes."

"I know. It seemed to be helping. Your teachers have been real pleased with your progress."

"I was wondering, ma'am, if maybe she could start doing it again?" He paused, "I wanted to ask you cause Coach let me know about her being grounded and such and I didn't want to mess that up or anything."

Tami looked at Tim with those smiling wide eyes of hers. He laughed inside at his ability to work the ladies. He could tell she was figuring on this being an additional punishment for Julie. 

Tucking her long hair behind her ear she replied, "You know what, Tim? I think that's an excellent idea. Julie helping you out will be good for the both of you."

If you only knew, he thought to himself. "Thanks, Mrs. T. I really appreciate it." 

"I'm really proud of you for asking for help, Tim. Real proud. Do you want me to talk to Julie about it then?"

"No, that's OK, Mrs. Taylor. I'll check with her and set something up. Thanks again."

He left her office with the world's biggest shit eating grin plastered across his face. "That, my friend," he said to himself, "is what you call killing two birds with one stone."

--/--/--/--/--/

"Riggins! Could you step into my office, please?"

Tim looked up from the bench by his locker to see Coach standing in front of him. He finished lacing up his cleats and gave the coach a questioning look.

"Please, son. Come with me."

What the hell? Tim had no clue what was going on but his balls crawled up inside him with the thought that Coach might know Julie was his intended target. Tim saw a few guys wearing suits standing in Coach's office and quickly figured this had nothing to do with his desire to nail Julie Taylor.

"Have a seat, Tim. These gentlemen are from the district office and the Dillon police department. They want to talk to you about Friday."

"Hello, Tim. I'm Wade Bennett and I'm the legal representation for the school district's athletic department." The man offered his hand to Tim who shook it. "This is Detective Simms. We just wanted to have a talk with you about Coach Dickey."

"Sure, what's going on?"

"Well, Tim, what Coach Dickey did to you is considered an assault." Simms stated, "We've opened an investigation at the request of the school district and as the victim wanted to contact you about pressing charges."

Tim sat speechless. Charges? All Tim wanted was for this to go away. The dude's wife was going to die and they wanted to throw him in jail. It didn't sit right with him.

"Well I honestly hadn't thought about that." Tim shared. "I mean I thought it was a done deal and we all would just move on. Coach?"

"Tim, I appreciate how you've dealt with this, I do, but it's gone beyond our control. National media has picked up on this and folks outside of Dillon are talking about it."

"What!" Tim exclaimed rising to his feet. "What do you mean, Coach?"

"Now sit down, son. I was contacted by a few media outlets for comment, of which I had none, but you should know that the film has been and is being shown on all the major sports and news channels."

Tim slumped back down in his seat. He couldn't believe his first ESPN highlight was of him getting shit-clocked by some old fart coach. Fucking perfect. He sat for a few minutes and finally spoke up.

"Nuh-uh, no. I don't want to press charges. We've got games to win, our focus is on making it back to State. This would just be a distraction, count me out."

Coach Taylor looked at Tim with pride in his eyes. "I wish it was that easy, Tim."

Mr. Bennett spoke up then, "Tim, you're a minor and the district needs to act in your best interest. We need to send a message that behavior like this will not go unpunished and that our zero tolerance policy of violence against students is upheld. The district is moving forward with pressing charges. You were only contacted as a courtesy. We hope you understand and will give us your full cooperation."

The men stood up and told Coach Taylor they would be in touch, shaking hands they left him and Tim alone in the office. Tim was at a loss, what the hell had just happened? Coach spoke first.

"Now you listen to me, Riggins. This changes nothing. Nothing, you hear me? I can't do anything about the footage being out there or what people are saying, but I can control how this team responds, do you understand what I'm saying to you? We focus on what is ahead of us. We don't look back. The team will follow your lead, you show them what's important, you got that?"

"Yes, sir." Tim got up to leave, but before he left the room Coach stopped him.

"You keep it up, Tim."

"What's that, Coach?"

"Surprising me." 

Tim looked back at this man, Julie's dad, his coach. Letting him down wasn't an option if he wanted to be with Julie.

"Will do, Coach."

"All right, well get your ass on the field, I have a practice to run."

--/--/--/--/--/

Tim sat in his beat up truck after a grueling practice that day. He was weighing his options for the night, getting shit-faced was in the lead so far. He didn't want to have to go home though as he knew Billy would be all jacked up over the damn clip making ESPN. Resting his head on the back window he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. A tap on his window made him jump. Tim looked over and saw Eric Taylor's face staring back at him.

Rolling down the window, Tim greeted him. "Hey."

"What are you still doing out here, son?"

"I, uh..." Tim let out a grunt. "I don't really know, sir."

Tim could see the gears turning in Coach Taylor's head. He could tell the fear of his all-star fullback falling apart was something the man wasn't willing to risk.

"Come on over to the house," Coach offered, "let's get some food in you."

Tim nodded in acceptance and fired up the truck. As he followed the Coach home he laughed to himself. Maybe there was a God in Heaven and he was on Tim's side. He was going to get to see Julie and after the day he'd had it quickly became clear to him that was a much better option than drowning his sorrows in a six-pack.

**AN:** Thanks again for all the nice reviews. It helps so much to know others enjoy this too! A special shout out to WhoJ, aka The Tulie Master, for all the encouragement.


	5. Goodnight

Julie Taylor was just finishing setting the table when the phone started ringing. Her mom was busy changing her little sister so she walked over to check the caller id. It was her dad's cell phone.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hey, there princess. Is your mom around?"

"She's changing a really rank Gracie Belle bomb."

"Glad I missed that." Eric Taylor joked with his oldest daughter.

"Yeah, it was pretty foul." Julie shot back. She was trying harder to be a little more relaxed with her parents. She wanted to move on from the stress of the entire year, her dad being away, Gracie's arrival, the nightmare with The Swede and how it had caused the big blow up with her mom, and then the recent mess with getting drunk and Tim getting kicked out. Tim...her mind started to drift toward what it felt like to have him lean up against her the other day. She let her imagination take her to seeing him lower his face next to hers, his eyes closed, anticipating what it would have felt like to have those lips...

"Julie? You still there?"

"Uh, yeah, Dad. Sorry. Were you saying something?" Julie knew she was flushed from that little day dream and tried to pull herself together.

"I was. I wanted to let your mom know we were going to have one more for dinner tonight."

"Oh, OK. I'll let her know. Uh, who is it?"

"Tim Riggins. OK, hun, I need to make one more quick call before getting home, but we'll see you in a few minutes. Bye."

Julie stood in the kitchen looking at the phone receiver she was holding, her mouth agape. She snapped to attention and quickly grabbed another place setting and put it on the table. She sped to the bathroom to check her appearance and saw to her horror she had managed to rub most of her makeup off since getting home from school. She quickly applied some lip gloss, eyeliner and mascara and brushed her long blond hair until it shone. She flew to her room and managed to change out of the boxer shorts she had put on to lounge in and found the jeans she had worn to school that day. She was looking for a top to throw over the tight white spaghetti strap tank she was wearing when her mom walked into Julie's room holding a freshly changed Gracie on her hip.

"Who was it on the phone, hun?"

"Oh, it was Dad. He wanted to let you know that he was bringing Tim home for dinner. I went ahead and set the table for one more."

Tami looked at her daughter with narrowing eyes realizing that she had just primped a little. "OK..."

Julie knew her mom had noticed so she threw out "I just thought jeans would be a little more appropriate than boxers, you know?"

They heard the front door open and the guys come in. Tami gave her oldest daughter one more questioning glance and said, "You're probably right." and turned to go greet her husband.

Julie wondered whether or not her mom had her figured out but she didn't have much time to think about it before Tim popped his head in her room.

"Hey, Jules."

Julie stood looking at him breathlessly. "Hi." 

They kept their eyes locked on each other for what felt like minutes but was only a few seconds. Tim broke the silence.

"Your mom wanted me to tell you dinner is ready."

"Great, I'll be right there. Thanks." As she turned to find her top.

"You look nice."

Julie's head flew around to see Tim checking her out appreciatively. 

"Oh, I, uh...thanks. I was just looking for my shirt..."

"Looks to me like you already got it on."

Julie blushed. She knew her breasts had been fodder of some locker room talk this year. She had steadily watched them grow over the summer, her life guarding suit getting tighter and tighter. She wasn't exactly pleased with this development, but when she saw Tim eying how she looked in the tank top she thought for the first time they might not be so bad. A mischievous grin spread across her face.

"I guess this will work. So I look nice?"

"Real nice." 

The desire Julie felt to grab that boy and throw him down on her bed was almost too much to over come. Stifling a giggle at the thought (wouldn't her parents just love that!) she walked toward him and pinned him against the door frame. Pressing her chest into his she looked up into those deep pools of green, "We'd better get out there." She left him with a quick hair toss and turned down the hall. 

Walking out to greet her dad she tried to keep her cool. Her parents both noticed she was in a little too good of a mood when she picked up her baby sister and started blowing raspberries on the infant's stomach. 

"Everybody ready?" Tami called out, setting the last steaming dish on the table.

"This looks great, darlin." Eric complemented, giving his wife a kiss on the temple, as the four sat down. Julie managed to get the seat across from Tim. Now that her Aunt Shelly was gone she thought she might be able to use this position to her advantage. 

"Well, thank you, sweetie, but I'm not the only one to thank, Julie and I made this together. Didn't we, Jules?"

"Yeah, it's no big deal. We just wanted to try out a new recipe mom found."

Tim spoke up, "I'm sure it's delicious."

Julie glanced at him as he was taking a big spoonful of the pasta dish. 

"It sure smells good." He added, not taking his eyes off Julie once.

Tami Taylor tilted her head to the side and gave the two teenagers a critical glance. She wasn't immune to what was going on here, but it was obvious her husband had other things on his mind. She took the information in and passed a dish of vegetables to Julie.

"So Julie, did Tim get a chance to talk to you today?" Tami inquired. She wanted to test them a little.

Julie looked at her mom with a surprised expression. She glanced at Tim and then back at her mom.

"Um..."

"No, Mrs. T. I didn't get a chance." Tim broke in.

"Talk to me about what?" Julie replied a little nervously.

"Yeah, about what?" Eric Taylor added, finally joining the group mentally.

"Tim and I had a great talk this afternoon in my office, didn't we, Tim?"

"Yeah, Mrs. T. It was good." Tim nodded in agreement followed by a large fork full of pasta.

"Oh, really?" Eric asked, taking a bite himself.

"Tim has realized that his education is actually of some value and asked my permission, which I granted, to have Julie resume tutoring him." Tami said in her best guidance counselor voice.

Julie looked at her mom with a look of shock and quickly turned to her dad. She saw him looking around the table and slowly nodding his head. He finished chewing his bite of food and looked at his daughter.

"I think that's a fine idea. Julie you can consider this part of your punishment, no offense, Tim."

"None taken, sir." Tim said trying his best to hold back a smile and looking over to Julie he added with the most hangdog expression he could muster, "I know it's not something you really enjoy doing, Julie, but it would really help me out."

Oh, he's good, Julie thought, really good. OK, she'd play along with Tim's little game.

"But, Dad!"

"No buts, Julie. I think we owe this opportunity to Tim, don't we?" He looked at her with a knowing glance.

"Fine. Whatever." She spat out after a moment. Oh, Dad, she thought, are you really falling for this? She had to laugh to herself. Her father had one of the sharpest football minds around and he'd fallen for this boonswaggle. She added a little sulking to the mix making sure her mom saw how 'unhappy' she was at this new development. She couldn't look at Tim because she knew the look of satisfaction would just be to much to handle, instead she stealthily stretched her bare foot toward him and placed it on the seat of his chair in between his legs. She could sense him shift in his seat and smiled. She had to hand it to Tim Riggins, he wasn't as dumb as he let everyone think he was.

--/--/--/--/--/

Julie was standing in the kitchen doing the dishes when her dad walked Tim to the door. They had said a quick goodbye and Julie was rewarded with another sly wink from him. She overheard her dad tell Tim to get some rest for the game tomorrow, close the door and came back into the kitchen. He stood there watching her scrub the casserole dish.

"You still mad?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest.

The ball is in your court, Julie, she thought, don't mess this up. Setting the soapy dish back into the water she turned and looked at her father.

"No, you're right. I messed it up and I owe it to him. I mean it won't be the most enjoyable way to spend my time, but I'll live." She gave her dad a weak smile. She starting thinking she should try out for the school play. Her acting skills were definitely improving. 

"That's my girl." Eric said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

She watched him walk over and sit down on the sofa by her mom who was holding a sleeping Gracie. He stretched his arm around his wife's shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth then gently nuzzled the infant's head. He let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong?" Her mom asked.

"The whole situation with Dave Dickey has blown up." Eric rubbed his hands through his hair and let out with another long sigh. "The district's pressing charges."

"Oh my god, Eric!" Tami exclaimed, startling the baby. She got up to lay her down in her crib and came back to the couch. Julie stood completely still by the sink.

"When did this happen? What...I don't even know what to ask?" 

"Some jackass in Austin ran the clip on the news and said something about how violence in the sport has gotten out of control. Then the national press picked up on it and the district had no other option but to respond. I don't know..." he trailed off.

Julie came out of the kitchen and sat by her parents. She hadn't talked to Tim anymore about what had happened and her first thoughts were to how he was going to take it. Thankfully her mom asked the question she was dying too.

"How's Tim doing with all of this?"

"Well, that's part of the reason I brought him over here tonight. He wants the whole thing to go away and it's why I agreed to your help, Julie."

"Me, why?" She asked surprised.

"Now look," he said turning to his wife, he'd been married too long to her to not know how she would react to his next statement, "I grasp the severity of what happened and how wrong it was, but I need that boy's mind to be focused on football. But, but," he added stopping Tami before she could interrupt, "I also understand that he needs to keep up with his school work and that's where you come in, Julie."

She nodded her head showing her dad she understood.

"I'm going to do my part by dealing with all the press and legal mumbo jumbo, so I appreciate you helping him with his studies. The last thing I want is Tim Riggins turning to his usual way of coping." Eric said with a pinched mouth.

She looked at her parents and saw what good people they were. Her feelings for Tim were growing at a speed she knew she couldn't control and she was looking forward to spending time with him, she was still so impressed with how he'd managed to make that happen, but she knew that her parents were expecting her to be of help in this situation. 

"Yeah, Dad. Of course."

The family sat for a few more minutes digesting the situation. Julie saw her dad get up and grab his notebook. There was a big game tomorrow so she knew he'd be up for awhile more. She finished up the dishes, told her parents goodnight and headed to her room.

--/--/--/--/--/--/

She had just turned the page in the novel she was reading, when she heard a tapping on her window. She quickly glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 11:00 PM. Who the hell? Throwing off her covers she quickly kneeled beside her window and wasn't disappointed when she saw a grinning Tim Riggins looking back at her. Slowly opening her window she leaned out.

"Are you insane?" She hissed.

"Good to see you too, Jules." He whispered back.

"What are you doing here?"

"Setting up our first study date." The jock explained.

"Very funny, Tim. If we get caught your little battle plan will have been for nothing."

"Plan? Why, Julie, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a struggling student who needs some expert attention."

"Expert attention, huh?"

"Yeah, you think you can help me out with that?" Tim looked intently at her. Julie was enjoying the exchange, but knew they were playing a dangerous game. 

"I think I might," She teased back, "but only if you leave right now!"

"You coming to the game?" He asked.

"Of course, we're all coming." Julie knew missing this game wasn't an option for her as far as her dad was concerned and she wanted to be there all the more now too.

"Good to know. I guess I'll see you at school then."

"OK, see you tomorrow. Good..."

She couldn't finish her response because he had grabbed her face in his hands and gently touched his lips to hers. She felt a warm flush wash over her body as his strong lips covered her trembling mouth. She started kissing him back allowing the kiss to turn more passionate when she felt him part her lips with his tongue. She returned the favor and if she hadn't needed to use her hands to keep her steadied on the window sill she would have thrown her arms around his neck to drawn him to her. He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes. She returned his gaze and then slowly pulled herself back into her room.

"Goodnight, Jules." He said as he turned and disappeared into the night, leaving her alone and breathless in her room. As she laid down and turned off the light she fell asleep still feeling the warmth of his mouth on hers.

**AN:** I hope is was as good for you as it was for me! ;) Thanks again for all the lovely reviews. I appreciate them!


	6. Burn

As Tim walked back to his truck, parked a few blocks away from the Taylor house, he ran a hand through his long hair. He'd just kissed Julie Taylor and it had been fan-fucking-tastic. Well worth the risk of potentially getting his ass kicked by Coach if he had been caught. Today had been one of those roller-coaster days that Tim doubted he'd ever forget. 

He had been so irritated by the Dickey situation he just wanted to get fucked up. Thankfully Coach intervened and things took an upswing. When Tim saw Julie in her room before dinner he was instantly hard and thanks to a prime view of her bodacious rack throughout the meal he remained that way. When he got home he tried to go to bed, he did have a game tomorrow, but all he could think about was running his hands, mouth and tongue over every inch of that girl's lithe body. Those thoughts did nothing to help him get to sleep so he did what every guy does to catch some zzz's. Thirty minutes after spanking it he was still wide awake and knew unless he took the bull by the horns he would be all night. He just couldn't get Jules out of his head. Booze was out, so he hopped in his truck and drove over, he just wanted to see her.

Finding her light still on was a plus. He was worried he would have to wake her up and that might have had an adverse effect on his mission if Coach had woken up too. When she had leaned out of her window he got an eye full of her amazing breasts and knew he had made the right decision. She looked like an angel, her long blond hair falling gently over her shoulder. He had reached out for her on impulse and kissed her, fulfilling his desire and hers. She tasted like peppermint. As he took a breath in now he could still taste her on his tongue. Tim knew getting to sleep wouldn't be a problem any longer.

--/--/--/--/--/

It was late in the fourth quarter and Tim was standing in the huddle looking at Matt Saracen receive the play from the sidelines. Their opponent was on top by three and they needed a touchdown if they wanted to win. Matt looked at Smash and Riggins and called it, pitch left X3. Tim was going to have to block for Smash. Time to go hurt some people. The ball was snapped and Tim busted through the defense clearing the route for Smash. He led his running back down the field knocking defenders down the entire way. He heard the crowd go wild when they crossed the goal line. 

"Oh, yeah, baby! Way to be, Rigs! That's how we do it in Dillon!" Smash yelled as he jumped on Tim's back. 

Tim and Smash were mobbed by their teammates as they sauntered off the field. Tim looked up into the stands and found the face he was searching for. She was cheering loudly and looking right at him. He took his helmet off and gave her a knowing gaze. It felt good to have her here, knowing she was into him and having her see him make a play like that. He knew it was pretty caveman of him, but he didn't give a shit. As the last whistle blew the Dillon crowd went wild. Another win. Another step closer to the playoffs. Coach patted him on the head as they ran off the field.

"That's what I wanted, son. Right there. Good job."

"Thanks, Coach." Tim replied. Hell, that felt pretty good too.

As Riggins made his way to the locker room he could see a bunch of lights and cameras clamoring for position. Reporters were holding out their microphones and yelling to get Coach Taylor's attention. He heard one of the reporters call out his name.

"Tim! Any comment on the controversy with Coach Dickey?"

What the fuck? Tim looked at the guy with a fierce glare. "No, man. No comment." 

Smash not being one to refuse the limelight and ran up to the scene. He started horsing around doing his thing and Riggins could tell he was trying to give him some space to get away. The exhausted fullback made his way into the locker room and sat in front of his locker. He threw his helmet down in anger. "Fuck!"

Smash came sauntering in a few minutes later and saw Riggins worked up. He walked over and looked at Tim.

"Hey, man! We just won the game. Don't let that mess bring you down."

Tim looked up at his co-captain and gave a small nod.

"That's right, baby! We just won the mutha-fuckin' game!" Smash sang out, running around the locker room trying to whip up some frenzy.

Coach Taylor came out, calmed down the scene and congratulated the players on a well played game. He walked over to where Tim sat.

"I want you to stay in here until I tell you to leave, alright?"

"Yeah, Coach."

--/--/--/--/--/

Tim took his shower and was hanging out in the weight room waiting for Coach to tell him it was cool to head out. He looked up from the bench he sat on to see Julie standing at the door.

"Hey, Tim." She smiled at him.

Without thinking he stood up and gathered her in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. He buried his face in her hair and smelled the sweetness it had to offer. He turned her face up to his and kissed her with a hunger which she returned. His fists clenched her golden tresses as he probed her mouth with his tongue. Kissing her was like a salve, he needed her to take away his pain and anger.

She broke away from the embrace and quickly glanced around. They were alone, but she was still nervous who might see them. He understood and took a seat back on the bench.

"Hi, Jules." He said with a smirk.

"Are you alright?" She asked nervously. 

In typical Riggins fashion, he brushed it off. "Yeah, it's just a pain in the ass, you know? What's going on out there."

"Dad cleared off the reporters. He's talking with Buddy Garrity and the mayor right now, so he asked me to come and tell you it's OK to leave."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Why wouldn't you want to?" She replied.

"Because if I leave that means I don't get to see you until Monday."

Her blushing smile was all the reward he needed. 

"I'm serious," he added, "let's just stay in the weight room all weekend."

She laughed at his absurdity, but he kept going.

"It wouldn't be so bad. I mean, there are these comfy benches to sleep on, they're a little skinny, but I think we could manage." He said bouncing up and down slightly.

"You're a dork, you know that?" She shot at him with a grin.

"I'm a dork, huh? Well, if I'm a dork, what does that make Landry?"

"Oh, that's so mean!" She said laughing even harder.

Tim got up and grabbed his bag. He threw his arm around Julie and planted a quick kiss on her forehead as they headed toward the door. "Come on, Tutor. Let's get out of here."

They strolled out of the locker room, Tim was careful to remove his arm first, and he walked her to her dad's car. Coach was finishing up with Buddy and the mayor and signaled he'd be right there.

Tim looked into Julie's eyes and saw them glistening. "Have a good weekend, OK?" she said.

"Yeah, you too. Don't get into too much trouble." He kidded.

She let out a small laugh. "I'll try not to, although Gracie has been itching to take the car for a joy ride."

"Yeah, that kid has juvie written all over her."

They shared the laugh as Coach Taylor walked up. "What's so funny?" he inquired.

"Nothing, Dad. Just another one of Tim's terrible jokes." Julie covered.

Eric looked at him and nodded. "Son, jokes just aren't your thing."

"I guess not, Coach." Tim conceded with a grin. 

"Alright, well I'll see you on Monday. Don't worry about that scene earlier. Just keep quiet and remember what I told you." 

Tim nodded his understanding and said his goodbyes then watched as the father and daughter got in their car and drove away. He stood there a few more seconds before jumping into his truck and heading to the party. Tonight he was getting his drink on, no question about it.

--/--/--/--/--/

The party was loud and chaotic. He'd had a few beers and was enjoying hanging out with his teammates. For the most part people had left him alone, but he did have to shoe away a few rally girls. They kept getting bolder in their approaches. He looked at them with a different perspective now. Their makeup was a little too harsh, their voices a little too loud, their desperation was a total turn off. He was just thinking about heading out when he saw the tall blond enter the room, coming straight for him. He rolled his eyes as he knew the shit storm had just blown in.

"Hello, Timothy. Boys." She said greeting the table.

"Tyra." He said calmly.

"How are y'all doing this evening?" She asked sweetly, a little too sweetly for Tyra. He knew something was up.

"Well, Miss Collete, we're just fine. Thanks for asking." 

"Care to take a walk outside real quick like? I'd like to have a little chat." She said with a raised eyebrow and a tight mouth.

"I'm sure you would, sweetheart, but I was just on my way home." The last thing Tim wanted right now was to deal with Tyra and one of her fits. Fuck her. He didn't owe her shit.

"Great, I'll walk you out." She wasn't going to give up.

They had a crowd watching them and those who knew them understood this was not going to be a happy conversation.

Tim stood up and drained his beer, shook hands with the players that he had been sitting with and headed for the door with Tyra hot on his heels. When they got to his truck he turned and looked at her.

"Just say what you're going to say, Tyra, quit the bullshit."

"Sure, Tim. Not a problem." She walked up to him and stuck a finger in his face. "I want to know what the fuck you think you're doing with Julie Taylor?"

"Studying, Tyra." He said flatly.

"Is that what you're calling it these days, 'studying'? Because in my day you called it 'messing around' and I'll be real honest with you Tim. Doing that with Julie Taylor will only get you one thing, trouble."

He looked at her with disdain in his eyes. "Why do you even care, Tyra? Last I heard you were 'messing around' with Landry Clarke."

"You think I'm jealous?! Tim, pull your head out of your ass, I'm Julie's friend. I care what happens to her and I know you like I know the back of my hand. You're going to crush that girl and by doing that you're going to ruin any chance you have of making it out of this place."

Tim stood for a minute looking down at his boots. When he looked up he had a calm reserve about himself. "You knew me, Tyra. Past tense."

He got in this truck, started it up and drove off leaving her standing in the street. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, but he wasn't about to explain the way he felt about Jules to his ex-girlfriend. As he drove home with a ball of fire in his gut he knew the argument she put up was going to be one he met with at every turn. His past just wouldn't stay where it belonged. He was trash and Jules was a princess. 

**AN:**This story is going somewhere, I promise, but I'm really enjoying the development of these two. Reviews are always appreciated!


	7. Time

With a yawn and big stretch Julie Taylor rolled over to look at her alarm clock. The blue numbers were vivid in the early morning light. 5:45. She knew she shouldn't be getting up this early, but going back to sleep probably wouldn't happen. Today was going to be an important day and she was nervous. She rolled onto her side and stared out the bedroom window. A smile crept across her face when she thought back to that first kiss two months ago. She then thought about all the kisses that had come after, thinking of them as their stolen moments. She and Tim had been very careful to keep their budding relationship completely under the radar, or at least they thought they had. 

Remembering how Tim had almost killed their relationship before it even got the chance to start brought Julie close to tears. He had distanced himself from her that next week after the kiss in the locker room. Julie thought back to her feelings of confusion and how she had thought walking away might be the best idea, end it before they both get too deep. Being together was going to be difficult and while she wanted to try she was limited to what she could do. She finally decided to fight for him when she saw some slutty rally girl throw herself on him his lap during lunch. Julie saw Tim standing alone near his locker later that afternoon before the team left for the game. She knew it was her opportunity to talk so she walked up to him.

"Hi Tim." 

He turned to see her and a smile flashed across his face before quickly disappearing. "Oh, hey, Jules."

She could tell he was trying to be nonchalant, but she wanted to know what was going on.

"How have you been?" She asked.

"Uh, good. Busy. I'm, uh..."

"What the hell are you doing, Tim?"

He looked back at her with shock. She knew he hadn't expected her to be so blunt, but she was pissed about him letting that rally girl crawl all over him.

"Getting ready to go, you know?" He replied blankly.

"Don't play dumb with me. What's changed? Why have you gone MIA all of a sudden?"

With that he looked down at his boots stalling for time. No way, Julie thought. You're not going to avoid this.

"Look, Jules..." he trailed off.

She knew he was going to end it. Bastard. She was kicking herself inside for letting him in. She shouldn't have been surprised. He was Tim Riggins, but she had been so sure she had seen something different in him. He had gone through her mother, for crying out loud, to get the chance to see her. She put her hand on her hip and looked at him, readying herself for the words she knew were coming.

"I..." he started and then stopped.

"You're going to have to say it Tim, I'm not going to do it for you."

He stood there looking at her. There was no doubt in her mind he could tell she was pissed. She knew she was getting all red and splotchy because she wanted to kick his ass but she didn't care what she looked like. He couldn't seem to form the words.

"Fuck you, Tim. You're a coward. You come on all strong and then just give up?"

She could tell he was uncomfortable and that the words stung, but at that moment she just didn't care.

"Look, Jules. I'm doing this for you, you don't want to be with me. I'm not the right guy for you. Go back to Matt or something. "

"Are you kidding me? Matt?! You think I want to be with Matt? You really are a dumb ass, you know that?" She fumed. Continuing her little tirade she added, "I just happen to be the idiot who wants you and I thought you wanted me. too" 

She knew she sounded wounded, she didn't want to seem weak in front of him, but the feelings that had formed in her heart for him were the most intense she'd ever had. There was just something about him that drove her wild. She knew no other guy in Dillon would ever spark something like this in her. Hell, she doubted she'd ever meet someone as intriguing to her as Tim Riggins was.

"You want me?" He looked at her with a vulnerability she'd never seen before.

"Duh! You think I just let any guy come to my window in the middle of the night and give me the best first kiss I've ever had in my life?"

He gave a low chuckle with that. "It was a pretty righteous kiss, wasn't it?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was."

"I thought the locker room one wasn't bad either." He added. 

His ego really knew no bounds, did it? Softening her voice she implored, "Tim, seriously, what's going on?"

Running a hand through his long hair, he sighed. "I don't know Jules. I just don't want to mess up your life."

"Who says you would mess it up?"

"My track record. I mean I haven't been the most model guy, you know?"

She knew he had a volatile relationship with Tyra and the history of what he did to Jason with that bitch Lyla Garrity, not to mention the numerous girls he had been with for random sex.

"Tim, I know all of that, but I thought that was in the past. I guess I thought you wanted to try something new, with me..."

"I did. I do..." he trailed off.

"So what's the problem?"

"Julie, we live in Dillon, remember? You're the daughter of my coach, who's a very protective man, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm the guy in his nightmares coming for his little girl."

She had to laugh with that one. "Oh, Tim. I think you're being a little over dramatic."

"Really? I know you were drunk, but did you see the way he looked at me when he found me in your room. I still count myself lucky to have my nads attached to my body."

"Well, he would have reacted that way to finding any guy in my room." She tried to play it off. "I thought we'd go down more a traditional route this time, you know? You'd come over to study, he'd see the changes in you, ease him into the idea. Wasn't that your big plan?"

Tim nodded. 

"So what happened to that? You haven't even given it a try."

"Tyra..."

"Tyra?! What has Tyra got to do with this?" Julie's mind reeled. She couldn't imagine they had gotten back together. Tyra was still trying to figure out things with Landry, how had they...

"She pointed out the flaw in my plan...me."

Julie breathed a sigh of relief. "Tim, she's just doing what she thinks is best for me. Tyra wouldn't be Tyra if she didn't let you know exactly what she was thinking the minute she was thinking it. You just need to focus on this."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"That I'm not a little girl and I'm telling you I want to do this with you."

There, she had said it. All her cards were on the table. If he walked away now she would know he had never been the right guy and she would just have to file this away in a little box in her heart as something that could have been. She didn't want that, but she wasn't going to beg. 

They stood there looking at each other. Julie wished she could read his mind but she didn't have to wonder what he was thinking for very long.

"I got to hand it to you, Taylor. You'd make a hell of a lawyer someday."

She smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. You're very convincing."

"Really?!" She said excitedly.

"Really." He added with a smile.

She took a quick look around, but didn't truly care who saw her throw her arms around him and plant a quick kiss on his lips. He put his hands around her waist and kissed her back on her forehead.

"You got me. I'm yours."

She had never heard better words in her life. She had fought for him and won. Tim Riggins was hers. She hadn't felt this much joy over something ever. They quickly got back to reality and he said he'd see her that night at the game. They were playing in Buckley and Julie would be there watching him.

After that Tim had come over to study three times a week and surprisingly they actually did do a lot of that. Much more than he would have liked, but they were usually accompanied by one or both her parents. On those rare occasions that they were left alone they quickly ditched the books and made out like their lives depended upon it. There had even been a few times at school they had managed to meet up in some remote spot and spend several minutes losing themselves in passionate kisses and groping. 

She was brought back to present day when she heard her little sister wake up and her mom going in to get the baby up. She heard a soft knock on her door soon after.

"Come in, Mom. I'm up."

"Say good morning to your big sister, Gracie Belle." Tami sang to the baby as they came in and sat down on Julie's bed.

Julie smiled up at her mom and sister and played peek-a-boo with the sheet to make the baby laugh. Tami reached down and patted her hand.

"You ready for today, sweetie?"

"Are you?" Julie asked back.

"I couldn't sleep very well. I kept wondering how your Dad was doing. I almost made you come get in bed with me to keep me company." She teased.

Julie rolled her eyes and laughed at her mother. "You'll have him back tonight, Mom. I think you'll live."

"You know we have to tell to him, no matter what happens at the game tonight, right?"

Julie nodded. Her mom had figured out what she and Tim were doing and talked to Julie a week ago. She told her mom everything. How their feelings had developed for each other and how Tim had changed. Tami had been torn on what to do, she saw the changes Tim had made in his life, his grades and attendance had improved and she couldn't deny that Julie's personality had blossomed, which had made things a lot easier around the Taylor home. Against some pretty strong odds, the Panthers were going back to State and the last thing she wanted was to upset Eric with this. Julie agreed and told her mom that she and Tim had not been physical past some kissing, that they were serious about each other, this wasn't just a fling. That had concerned Tami almost more than her thinking Tim Riggins just wanted to have sex with her child. They had talked long into the night and finally agreed that they would wait until after the game in Austin was played to tell Eric his daughter had fallen in love with his star fullback. Julie had been praying non-stop since then that the Panthers would win. She couldn't imagine telling her dad this after a loss.

"Well," her mom said standing up, "we better get this show on the road. Clean up and get packed, we need to be on the road in an hour, OK?"

"Yeah, Mom." Julie answered swinging herself out of bed.

The Taylor girls were driving to the game today, with the addition of Gracie Belle they thought it would be easier to not take the whole family to Austin for the day proceeding the game as Eric would be swamped, but would be staying the night tonight. She had selected a dress to wear to the after game dinner and party, her parents had agreed she could attend, that she knew Tim liked. She placed one more item in her bag. She was still contemplating on whether or not she'd wear it. As much as she wanted to, she needed to think about it some more. It was a big step. 

When Julie had told Tim her mom knew everything he had gotten very nervous. She knew he was scared of her dad being upset with him so she assured him that he wouldn't be told until after the championship game was over. It took Tim a few days to get used to the idea that their secret relationship wasn't going to be so secret anymore, but he had done the best thing he could have. 

"It'll be good. It's time. Here." He said placing something in her hand.

As Julie headed to shower to get ready she looked back at her bag. The white jersey with the number 33 sat on top.

AN: Going to take a break for a few days, but I needed to get this out while it was still fresh in my mind. Special thanks to all you awesome reviewers of the last two chapters (A9L9O8N7E, Ansleyrocks, Cenababy, Fallen 1987, Luckylily, Lunatic Lorenzio and Ody!) I appreciate it so much - Scarlett


	8. State

Tim stood with his hands on the sink looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was pretty sure he was going to puke otherwise he wouldn't be hanging out by the toilets. State. They'd made it, barely. He couldn't believe they were back here, nobody believed they could do it. Hell, if he was 100 honest with himself he didn't think they could either. He'd never admit that to anyone and now he'd never have to. Nerves were frayed and tempers short in the locker room. It hadn't been this bad last year, they had been too green to know better. In ten minutes he was going to take the field at the University of Texas and play for another State Championship.

"Oh, fu..." was all he could manage before having to lose his breakfast in the nearest stall. He cleaned himself up and made his way over to the water table. Coach called everyone in and told them to take a knee.

"Well, gentlemen...the day has come. You know what you have to do. We've drilled, practiced and ran your asses off all we could to prepare for this game. THIS GAME!" Coach Taylor barked. "Now I've heard all about how 'the experts' say we shouldn't even be on the same playing field as Midland, that if it hadn't been for some key injuries our opponents suffered we'd be watching the game the way they are. I think you know what I have to say to that."

Coach stopped and looked at each of the players. "They. Are. Wrong! This is football and on any given day when any given team takes the field, the team that plays the hardest and fights the longest wins! So what's it going to be?"

The guys yelled "Win!" in unison.

"I can not hear you!" Coach screamed back.

"WIN!!" Yelling and jumping ensued.

"Smash! Start it off." Coach ordered.

Smash stood at the middle of the locker room. Tim could tell he was nervous, but the senior running back started clapping his hands and others soon started in. Before long the sound of the claps were deafening.

Smash called out, "Clear eyes! Full hearts!"

The team responded, "Can't lose!"

"What?!" Smash demanded.

"CAN'T LOSE!"

The chant was repeated several times until Coach motioned everyone to put their hands in. "On three."

"PANTHERS!"

Tim and Smash led the team out of the locker room and down the tunnel. The Dillon fans erupted in wild cheers upon seeing the team take the field. 'Whoa,' Tim thought, 'this place is pretty big.' He told himself to get his head in the game but before he could he did a quick scan. He just needed to see her.

Tim felt like a pussy, it had only been two days ago they said their goodbyes and he gave her his jersey. He'd never done that before, she would be the first and only girl to ever wear his Dillon Panther jersey, that is if she wore it. They both knew they wouldn't be able to keep their secret anymore anyway so Tim thought why not announce it in a big way, rip the band-aid off. He was actually a little worried he would need more than band-aids to repair the damage Coach would do to him, but he knew he had to do this. He was in love with Julie Taylor.

* * *

With two minutes to go in the 2nd half and Dillon was down by 10. Tim was sitting on the bench next to Landry. He kept looking over his shoulder to scan the crowd. Landry looked at Tim with a look of concern on his face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Landry asked.

"What? Nothing," Tim scoffed, "just checking things out."

"You're looking for her, aren't you?"

"For who?" Tim played dumb.

"You know 'who'. Julie Taylor."

"Now why would I be looking for Julie Taylor?" he laughed, trying to play it off.

"Because, idiot, you like her. I date Tyra remember? You think I don't hear about how Julie is going to get her heart pulverized by you at least once a day?"

Tim looked at Landry and then looked around to see who might have heard him. He leaned in closer.

"Have long have you known?" He asked a little nervously.

"Don't worry, dude. Nobody else knows, although I did see you and Miss Taylor duck into a utility closet a few weeks ago when you should have been in 6th period, so don't quote me on that. Matt thinks something is up, but I haven't said anything. It's not my place."

"Thanks, Landry. I appreciate that." Tim said with a nod and a slap on the shoulder. "So, uh...you know where she's sitting?"

Landry laughed and shook his head. "Yeah. She's sitting with Tyra and her mom. Behind you, about halfway up, middle of the row. She's got a pink jacket on."

Those words hit Tim right in the gut. He slowly turned around and looked up. There she was and she was indeed wearing a pink jacket.

"Riggins!!"

Tim quickly turned to see Coach Taylor standing in front of him. "You want to go out on the field with the rest of the offense or would you rather look at all your fans? I know there are only 45 seconds left in the half so maybe you want to just go ahead and get in the locker room early to get a good seat?"

Tim picked up his helmet, apologized and ran out onto the field to join his teammates.

"Nice of you to join us, Riggs." Smash kidded.

"Sorry about that guys."

Matt barked at them. "Forget it! Come on guys, we need to concentrate. Flash 4 on 3."

Tim got ready on the line of scrimmage and when the ball was snapped he took off on his running route, turning 15 yards down the field he prepared to catch the ball and just as he felt it reach his fingers he was hit with a solid tackle that drove him to the ground. Incomplete pass. The next play resulted in a sack for a loss of 8 yards. With only 25 seconds left and the ball on their own 12, Tim knew it didn't look good.

Smash was able to get a 7 yard rush on 3rd down, but they had to go for it on 4th down. Matt got the guys back in the huddle and looked at Tim. "You gotta break free, Tim, it's all or nothing. Rodeo 6 on a short 3."

Tim heard the snap count and broke down the sidelines, getting to the designated yard maker he turned to catch the ball he knew would be there only to see a pile back at the line of scrimmage. Matt had been sacked again. The gun fired, ending the half with Dillon still down by 10.

* * *

As Tim took the field for the 2nd half he didn't look up to see Julie, he was too focused. He and the rest of the team had just had their assholes reamed by her dad, so he was a little preoccupied with getting Dillon back into this game. Looking like a bunch of ass hats in front of the entire state of Texas was something he was hoping to avoid. He began taking pleasure in his hits, feeding off the pain he was feeling and causing. There was a renewed sense of urgency in the Panthers on both sides of the ball and with three minutes left in the 4th quarter Dillon was only down by 3.

Tim was a machine, his mind and body were running on autopilot. They had fought their way down into the red zone and he knew he was going to score a touchdown on the next play.

"QB1, I want the ball." He told Matt as he came to the huddle.

Matt looked at him and could see there was something going on that he had to trust in. He checked the sidelines and saw the play come in for Smash to run it.

"You better catch this or it's my ass." Matt stated. "Alright guys, I just misread the call and we're going with Riggins on this."

The rest of the team nodded their agreement and broke from the huddle. Tim didn't see Coach Taylor start to lose his shit on the sideline when they set up the wrong formation, but five seconds later when Tim felt the ball land solidly in his hands as he stretched across the end zone he knew it wouldn't be an issue.

Tim made his way to the sidelines through all the guys patting him on the back and he threw a cup of Gatorade down his throat. He heard the crowd cheer for the made extra point. Dillon was now up by 4.

"You gentlemen care to explain that?"

Tim looked up to see Coach Taylor standing in front of him and Matt on the bench. He didn't exactly look pleased.

"I, uh, guess I saw the wrong signal." Matt tried to explain.

"Save it," Coach barked, "it worked this time, so you're lucky, but either of you ever do something like that again and I'll bench your asses."

"It was me, Coach." Tim owned up.

"You think I don't know that, Riggins, but I get paid to call the plays, understand?"

"Yes, sir, but...it was a pretty awesome play though, right?" Tim smirked.

He could see Coach having a really hard time keeping his 'hard ass face' on. Coach took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair. Chuckling, he smiled at the boys.

"Yeah, it was." He quickly resumed his angry posture, but Tim knew he was impressed, "Just remember what I said."

All of a sudden they heard a roar from the crowd. Hurrying over to the side line they saw a Midland player running the ball down the sideline and entering the end zone without a Panther in sight. Tim hung his head in frustration. Their lead had been short lived and there was now only two minutes left in the game. Midland decided to go for the two point conversion, which they easily made, and now they were up by 4.

Coach looked at Tim and Matt and put his hands on their shoulders and simply said, "Go fix this."

Two giant passes later and Dillon had moved the ball into Midland territory. Time continued to tick off the clock as the Panthers pushed their way down to the field. Tim was drained. They had just been stopped twice from gaining any significant yardage. It was 3rd and goal on the 9. With only 30 seconds left on the clock Matt tried one more time to get the ball into the end zone. After the snap Tim could see that his quarterback had no open receivers to throw to so Matt dove forward and was pummeled as the Midland defensive line dove for him.

Fourth and goal on the 8 yard line. This is it, Tim thought as he looked at the faces around the huddle, the last play I'll ever have with all of these guys. He felt an odd sense of calm come over him.

"Smash gets the ball," Matt declared. The guys all nodded.

"I got this one, baby." Smash said, "I'm taking it all the way. We got this. Y'all hear me? We got this."

Matt snapped the ball and handed off to Smash. Tim brought a leveling blow down on the guy in front of him clearing the path for Smash to cut through. He watched as the running back flew toward the end zone. All of a sudden Tim saw a Midland player dive toward Smash and grab his arm that was wrapped firmly around the ball and hit it out of his hands. Tim watched as the ball flew through the air. It bounced on the turf and as players scrambled it was picked up by some lumbering Midland linebacker.

'We're finished,' Tim thought, but instead of falling on the ball, thus ending the game and giving Midland the win, the kid started running. What the hell was the idiot thinking? He saw the player try to break for the open field and Tim knew it came down to him to stop this. He summoned up all the hurt and rage he had ever felt in his life and ran like demons were on his tail. Tim saw the kids eyes go wide with terror as he launched right for him, directing his helmet toward the ball. 'Pop loose, you fucker,' was the last thought he remembered before things went dark.

* * *

Tim rolled over and tried to stand up.

He was disorientated and couldn't hear anything but an odd buzzing sound.

He tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head.

Tim made it to his feet and looked down the field just in time to see Matt Saracen run the ball into the end zone untouched.

All hell broke loose.

* * *

As Tim stepped away from the mass of players' bodies in the end zone he turned a 360 to survey the scene. The field was pandemonium. This was amazing, they had done it! Back to back State Champs! He threw his arms in the air and shook his helmet in celebration. Throwing back his head he roared in jubilation. He started to head over to hug Matt when out of the corner of his eye he saw her blond hair streaming out from behind her. Julie was running up to her dad with Tami holding Gracie Belle. He watched as she ran past her dad and headed right toward him. His heart stopped, he couldn't believe what he saw. Her beautiful smile glowed and he could see tears streaming down her face, but what really got Tim chocked up was seeing her wearing his jersey. She'd done it, she wore it. Tim knew that meant she was his and she didn't care who knew. It meant she loved him too.

It happened so quickly Tim didn't even think, he just reacted. He swept her up into his arms and kissed her with a passion he hadn't know was inside of him. Her soft lips returned his kisses with urgency and desire. She ran her hands through his hair and feeling her wrap her legs around his waist Tim began turning her around in circles as they kissed for what felt like hours, stopping only when he saw their image being projected on the stadium's big screen.

**AN:** I know this chapter focused on football a little too much, please forgive me. I just wanted to go there since we didn't get to this year with the show. If you stuck with it, I hope the payoff was worth it! SL:)


	9. Aftermath

Julie realized Tim had stopped kissing her. When she opened her eyes and turned to see what he was looking at she was appalled to see their faces on the enormous screen overlooking the field. She had to laugh, it was just so hysterical to her. Blushing mightily she buried her head in Tim's chest. Looking around she saw several players looking at them with open jaws, one of which was Matt. She felt a small pang remembering the previous year, but she quickly forgot about Matt's feelings when she saw the look on her dad's face. Shock would have been an understatement.

"Come on," Julie said looking up at Tim, "we have to go over."

She clutched his hand tightly in hers and started walked over to where her family was standing. She could hear people talking about them as they passed, but she didn't care. She had decided already that she was going to take control of this situation. She loved Tim and was going to stand her ground.

"Dad."

Julie could see her dad was trying to process everything. His elation at winning another championship was quickly doused by seeing his daughter kiss the troubled fullback with a racy history. Before he could formulate a response an official came up to him regarding the trophy presentation.

"We are going to talk about this. Do not leave this field." Eric Taylor ordered.

He kissed her mother quickly and then grabbed Tim by the arm dragging him off.

"I'll be back, Jules." Tim called over his shoulder.

Julie watched them head to the center of the field. She felt her mom wrap her arm around her shoulder and lean her head against hers.

"Oh, Julie."

"I had to, Mom."

"I know you did, sweetie. I'm proud of you."

Julie quickly turned to look at her mother. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I am, honey. You're becoming a fine young woman and as hard as your growing up is on me and your dad, I can't deny the changes I've seen in you."

The Taylor women watched as their patriarch stood before the crowd and received another championship trophy. His speech was eloquent and brought them to tears. Julie was stunned even further when it was announced that Tim was named the game's MVP. He went up on the podium and accepted the award humbly. He looked straight at her when thanking everyone and turned to shake Coach's hand. Julie held her breath. In her mind she envisioned her dad decking Tim right there in front of God and everybody, but instead, to her dismay, he grabbed Tim's hand and brought him in for a quick hug.

"Oh my God, did you see that, Mom?"

All Tami could do was nod, but she knew this wasn't the miracle Julie had hoped for. That was a coach being proud of his player's achievement. Tami could only hope some of that feeling stayed with her husband when he thought about that player being with his daughter.

After about fifteen minutes Eric and Tim made their way over to where they had left them.

"Come with me right now." Eric said in his best 'I'm the boss' voice.

The group made its way back to the locker room with Eric shaking hands along the way and accepting congratulations from well wishers. He made a quick speech to the team and then Julie heard him tell Mac to get the guys cleaned up and back to the hotel for the dinner the boosters had set up for everyone.

"What about Riggins?" Mac asked.

"Don't you worry about him." Eric replied.

He led them to an office and once they were all inside, shut the door. Julie watched him pace back and forth for a minute. She looked at her mom and Tim and they both knew to just let him be, but she couldn't take it anymore.

"Dad." She started.

He held up a hand to silence her. She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't do that, Julie." He shot back, "Don't pretend like this is no big deal. You just kissed my fullback in front of the entire state of Texas."

"Coach..." Tim tried to break in.

"Uh-uh. No, not you, not yet." Eric barked, pointing a finger in Tim's direction. "You sit. I'll get to you in a minute."

"Eric," Tami spoke up, "just calm down, you're scaring the baby." She started soothing a startled Gracie.

"Calm, down? Why am I the only one who needs to calm down? Why aren't you a little more worked up about this yourself, Tami?" Eric said quietly through clenched teeth.

"Look, I wanted to tell you, but with the game..."

"You knew? You knew about this and didn't tell me? And what exactly is 'this'?" Eric said spinning to face Julie.

"Dad, it just happened."

"What about that night in your room? If I find out that you two..."

"NO!" Both Tim and Julie said in unison.

"Dad, look. That night happened just like I told you. It was my fault and Tim was just trying to help me, but after...after he stopped living with us, we became...closer. I don't know how to explain it. We just started liking each other."

"Sir, it's true. Julie is a great girl." Tim said.

"Oh, you don't need to tell me she's a great girl, Tim, I know she's a great girl. I also happen to know she's not the kind of girl you are used to being with so forgive me if I'm a little concerned about this situation."

"Honey," Tami interjected, bouncing a still fussy Gracie on her hip, "this happened right in front of us. If you calm down for just a minute and think about the last few months you'll understand what I'm saying. They can't help feeling what they feel."

Julie looked at her mom with tears in her eyes, she couldn't believe how she was sticking up for her and Tim.

"Daddy," Julie said with a catch in her voice, "we didn't break any rules. I've followed all of them and haven't complained once. I just want you to let us have a chance."

Eric was rubbing his hands through his hair as he continued to pace. He looked at the group, with nostrils flaring and tightly pursed lips he turned and left the room.

"Mom?" Julie inquired.

"Hang on, sweetie. You two just sit tight and don't be stupid." She said with a knowing look as she left to follow her husband.

Tim and Julie were alone. She immediately flew to his arms and hugged him.

"Oh, Tim. I'm so, so sorry."

"Sorry?" He laughed. "What do you have to be sorry for? This is the greatest day of my life."

"Really?"

"Jules, we just won another championship and the best girl in the world is wearing my jersey for everyone to see. What's not to be happy about?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Well, this." She said waiving her arm around the office.

"We knew it was going to happen, we couldn't avoid it, but Julie Taylor," Tim said taking her face in his hands, "even if I live to 100, I'll never forget how amazing it was to kiss you on that field." And with that he bent down to kiss her softly on the lips.

Her parents walked into the room a few minutes later to find them sitting on the couch holding hands. Julie knew what was said next would be a turning point in her and Tim's relationship. They stood up and she held her breath.

"This is how it's going to be," her dad began, "Julie, you are still grounded. You can continue to tutor Tim at the house during the week. Tim, if you want to see Julie outside of that you will do it at our house on Saturday evening. That's the deal."

Julie was beginning to formulate a complaint when she heard Tim speak.

"That's fine, sir."

"What about tonight?" Julie asked.

"Tonight?" Her father questioned.

"You said I could go to the dance." Julie knew she was pushing it, but she had to try. Before her dad could respond her mom interjected.

"Eric," Tami soothed, "let them enjoy this moment to celebrate. Tim, you played a wonderful game. You should be so proud of your efforts."

Julie was impressed with her mom bringing that up. She saw something in her dad shift.

"Fine. You can attend the dance, but you will be in the room by 11:00. Not one second later." Turning to Tim he added, "I've got eyes everywhere, just remember that. Don't disappoint me."

"I won't, Coach."

Julie saw her dad check his watch. She felt bad that he had to deal with this today, but she'd did what was in her heart. She couldn't apologize for that.

"Go shower up, Tim." Eric ordered.

Julie turned to Tim before he left, "I'll see you in little bit." She stood on her tip toes and kissed him. She heard her father clear his throat and she couldn't help but smile. It was time for him to get used to this, she was dating (even if it was going to be with them) Tim Riggins.

Tim left the room and the Taylor family was alone. Julie faced her parents.

"Thank you." She said softly and ran to her dad. Throwing her arms around him for a hug she added, "Congratulations, Daddy."

Tami joined the hug and the tension in the room broke.

"You really want this, Julie?" Her dad asked kindly.

"I do, Dad. I really do."

"Honey, Tim Riggins?"

"He's changed, Dad. He has. You've seen the changes he's made."

"It's just..."

"I know, Dad, but I'll be fine. Really."

Julie saw her father looking at her and she could see only love in his eyes. She knew this could have gone horribly wrong and was surprised that it had gone as well as it had.

"Alright, well...we need to get. I'll see you ladies at the dinner, OK?"

They said their goodbyes and headed for the parking lot. Julie could feel the eyes of everyone on her as they made their way to the car. She tried to think of how many people had seen the kiss. She laughed to herself when she thought maybe Tim's second ESPN clip would be that.

* * *

Standing in front of the mirror Julie looked at her reflection. She had curled her long blond hair so it fell in ringlets around her shoulders. Her dress was a form fitting LBD that tied around her neck and gave her tons of cleavage. She slipped on strappy heels, applied perfume to her pulse points and added a final coat of lip gloss. Inspecting herself one last time she opened the bathroom door and walked out to show her mom.

"Oh, Julie. You look beautiful, honey." Tami said with a small tear in her eye.

They made their way down to the ballroom where the dinner was being held and Julie could again feel everyone looking at her. She was starting to get a little paranoid, but then she saw Tim standing in the hallway talking to some of the guys. Smash tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to look at her. She saw him stop mid sentence and take her in. She knew she was blushing as she felt the flush wash over her skin. He was looking at her like he wanted to devour her and she didn't mind in the least. He walked up to them and said hello to her mom. Tami told them to enjoy themselves and left them taking Gracie Belle to find Coach Taylor.

"You look amazing, Jules."

"Thanks, you look pretty nice yourself." She said, smoothing her hand across his suit coat. "Is that a new tie?" She teased.

"Maybe. You like it?" He teased back.

"I do," she ran her fingers down it and purred into his ear, "it's very...silky."

Tim let out a groan, "You're killing me, you know that?"

She giggled and took his hand. He directed her to a little alcove and pressed her up against the wall. As he buried his face in her neck and delivered soft little kisses behind her ear. She arched her body and drove her pelvis into his and felt exactly how much she was killing him. She let out a moan of desire and moved her hands around him and rested them on the small of his back, enjoying the way his lips brushed her shoulder. They heard voices coming down the hall behind them and quickly straighted themselves up. Julie looked up into Tim's green eyes and hoped he could tell just how much she loved him. She knew it wasn't time to say it yet, but she couldn't help feeling it all the same. He broke the silence.

"Jules...I," he started a little nervously, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure..."

"I want to do this right, make it official. Will you, you know, be my girl?"

She let out a small, soft laugh at his nervousness. She found it so sweet that Tim Riggins wanted to have a label for them when it was obvious from his history he shied away from anything like that. Locking eyes with him she softly replied.

"I've never wanted anything more."

**AN:** One more chapter after this, kids. Continued thanks to those who have reviewed.


	10. Slow Dance

Tim shifted on the bench and moved uncomfortably in his suit coat. Using his fingers to brush back his long hair he let out a disgruntled snort. He couldn't believe he was actually going to have to go in there and testify at Coach Dickey's trial. It was such a bunch of bullshit, but he had no choice. Julie and her parents were with him, but he was still nervous. Courts of law weren't exactly on his favorite places list.

Tim looked up and saw Julie standing down the hall with her mom and dad as they talked to the D.A. Coach had stuck by him like he said he would and had dealt with everything up until Tim had to actually testify. Julie turned her gaze to him and gave him a small wave. He took in her sweet smile and leaned back against the wall thinking back over the last month.

She'd been great. They had been on the receiving end of some crap from kids at school, but Tim chuckled as he remembered Jules telling Lyla, with venom in her voice, to go find a different relationship to mess with when she had started sniffing around him again. He had a new found appreciation for Julie Taylor after that and he never wanted to be the recipient of her wrath. She was definitely her father's daughter. Matt had been scarce after State, but he seemed to be coming around to the idea that Julie really was Tim's, having started to join them at their table during lunch.

Tim had gone to the Taylor's every Saturday night since State and actually had a good time hanging out with all of them. They had some epic Monopoly battles and Julie had improved her ping-pong game to the point that he and Coach actually had to concentrate in order to beat her. Her parents had allowed her to walk him to his truck to say goodnight and they enjoyed a few minutes of serious make-out time. He was nervous the first time, but when Julie remarked she highly doubted her dad wanted to watch them kiss he relaxed enough to maul her in the driveway. His desire to throw her down right there and seal the deal was getting to be a little difficult to overcome. He began to worry the bicep in his right arm would be noticeably bigger than the left due to all the jerking off he was doing. Hell, he hadn't spanked it this much since 8th grade. He was brought back to reality when he saw the group had walked up to him.

Coach sat down and put his hand on his shoulder. "Son..."

Tim looked at Coach's face and could tell this wouldn't be good news.

Eric Taylor turned his head away and Tim could hear him clear his throat. Looking back at him he said, "You're not going to have to testify."

Tim was stunned. "What's going on?"

Tami stepped forward and he could see tears in her eyes. "Peggy Dickey died last night."

Tim knew that was Coach Dickey's wife. That sucked, he couldn't imagine what that guy was going through. Life was so fucked up sometimes.

"Tim," Coach said, "the DA's office has agreed to plea Dave out on a lesser charge as long as you're OK with it."

"You know I am, Coach. I never wanted this in the first place." Tim was steamed. That poor bastard had to spend his last moments with his wife worrying about this shit. Julie sat down beside him and hugged him. He turned to the attorney.

"So this is done?"

"Yeah, y'all can go. I have some paper work to finish with the court, but you can consider this case over." The man replied.

Coach stood up and shook his hand and motioned for his family and Tim to follow him.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Tim and Jules sat on the couch playing with Gracie Belle. The fugly little kid had a special place in Tim's heart and he took pleasure in making her laugh by tickling her in the crook of her neck. He'd never made anyone laugh like that and to hear her deep chuckles made him laugh himself.

"You OK with today?" Julie inquired.

"It's done, let's just leave it." Tim replied.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and he turned to give her a kiss on the top of her head. He let his mind flash forward to what it would feel like to be married to Julie and have a home and baby like this. 'Hopefully a few more of my genes would be in the mix,' Tim thought wryly while looking at the bugeyed baby.

Mrs. Taylor come into the room and sat down, "Hey, kids."

"Hi, Mom."

Coach Taylor came in and sat down too. "Julie, your mom and I have something to say to the both of you."

Tim sat up a little straighter and looked at Julie who seemed as clueless as he was.

"I know I wasn't the biggest fan of this whole thing," Eric said waiving his hand in their direction, "but I gotta admit..."

Tim could see the man struggling for words. He could imagine what it would be like someday when he had to let his own daughter be with a guy like him. Tim made a mental note to have shotguns hanging over the mantle.

"Julie, what your dad is trying to say," Tami said, coming to her husband's rescue, "is that you are no longer grounded."

Julie flew from his side and rushed to her parents, throwing her arms around them. She kissed her dad on the cheek and Tim saw Coach give him one of his sternest looks.

"This doesn't mean you two can go all crazy and do just whatever you want. I want to see you maintaining your grades and curfew is still 11:00. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Tim responded.

"So," Tami said brightly, "why don't the two of you go grab some dinner and see a movie?"

"Seriously?" Julie said excitedly.

"Yep." Her mom answered.

Julie turned and grabbed his hand practically pulling him off the couch. "See you guys later." She said dragging him toward the door.

Tim laughed and turned to thank the Taylor's but all he was able to do was give them a quick wave. 'Damn,' he thought, 'this little girl has some serious strength.'

He watched as Jules jumped in his truck and bounced up and down on the seat like a little kid.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Take me to the library."

He gave her a weird look and all she did was laugh.

"Drive! I promise you'll be happy you did."

"OK..." he shook his head in amusement.

When he pulled up outside of the Dillon Public Library she jumped out and said with a sly grin for him to wait there for her. About five minutes later she came strolling out with a few papers in her hand.

"You'll need to read this later. Now drive to the theater."

"What is it?" He said watching her fold the white sheets and place them in the messy glove box.

"A synopsis of the movie we're going to see."

He laughed, "Where'd you get it?"

"There's a spoiler website that publishes entire plots of movies. Think of it as a cheat sheet." She said tossing him a knowing look. It wasn't like he had never had one of those before.

Tim did her bidding and drove to the movie theater. He was surprised that she wanted him to know the plot before the movie, but thought it might be one of those foreign jobs with subtitles knowing her. He hadn't heard of 'Atonement' before, but bought tickets to the 7:30 show without argument.

"So what do you want to do until the movie starts? Alamo Freeze?" He asked.

"Tim..." she said looking at him with a bewildered look on her face, "we're not really going to see the movie."

He was confused, then why the hell did he just spend 18 bucks on tickets?

"Drive us someplace." She said, placing her hand on his thigh and her tongue in his ear.

The pieces clicked together and Tim looked at Julie through narrow eyes, 'vixen' was the word that came to his mind. He fired up the truck and headed out of the parking lot and over to his place.

"Sit tight." He told her.

He was back in a few minutes and threw a bundle into the bed of the truck. He gave her a wink and started driving out of town, he knew just the spot.

* * *

Tim was lying with Julie on a blanket in the back of his truck looking up into the night sky while slowly drawing his fingers through her hair. The radio in the cab was softly playing country tunes. Her head was resting on his chest and she was tenderly running her fingers over his tight abdomen. He could feel little electric sparks pass from her finger tips onto his skin with each pass. She slowly lifted up his shirt and began kissing his chest with tiny, light touches. Tim's mind reeled. He knew it would take all his strength to let this girl leave him that night with her virginity intact.

"Jules..." he sighed.

"Just enjoy it."

"Enjoying it isn't the problem."

"Tonight there are no problems." She responded, continuing her exploration of his chest, slowly drawing the kisses downward toward his jeans.

He knew he should stop her, but he just couldn't bring himself to. He felt her start to remove his belt and unbutton his jeans. He opened his eyes and saw a look on her face that was new. Julie was being the aggressor and he liked it.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Very."

He assisted her in taking off his jeans and boxers. Tim was completely satisfied to let her control everything. He saw her looking down at his naked and highly erect form and wondered if this was the first time she had seen a guy like this before. He quickly stopped caring when she brought her mouth back down to his body and began licking his stomach. Positioning herself between his legs she ran her hands down his chest and as her hair spilled onto his skin he thought he would lose it right there.

"Oh, God..." he moaned.

Julie moved her hands down to take his erection in her hands. This was the first time he felt the softness of her skin on his. They had done plenty of stuff in various closets around school and rushed sessions on her couch, but their clothes had always remained on. This was definitely much better. She began stroking him with a slow, steady pace and ran her tongue around the base of his penis. When she placed it in her warm, wet mouth Tim knew he didn't have long. Julie had just found her rhythm when he realized this was it. He motioned to her that he was about to come, he was fully prepared to deal with the cleanup himself, but when she pushed him back down on the bed of the truck and continued he almost lost his mind. Not able to hold back any longer he unloaded into her mouth. 'Holy crap, she swallows' was all Tim was able to process before the power of his orgasm stopped all thought.

Tim laid in the bed of the truck trying to recover.

"Wow..." was all he was able to say.

Julie seemed to be very pleased with herself as he gave her a glance. She wore a smug expression and he knew she liked the power she held over him, but it was time for Tim Riggins to take control.

Flipping her down on the bed of the truck and leaning over her, he simply said, "My turn."

She was laughing at his swagger, but soon stopped when his fingers began drawing her top up. She leaned up and allowed him to take it off. His breath was taken away when he saw her angelic hair fanning out on the blanket as he laid her back down. Her delicate white bra couldn't hide the fact that she was aroused and he brought himself down to slowly tongue her erect nipples through the lace. Her body writhed beneath him and she let a low moan escape her lips. Tim knew he was going to give Julie more pleasure than she had ever felt in her life. He slowly unhooked her bra and removed it with his teeth. She began giggling again at his silliness. It felt good to Tim to be so free with her. This wasn't just physical, it felt so natural to be like this with her.

Seeing her supple breasts free from their constraints had been a fantasy of Tim's for a while now. Fantasy had nothing on reality. They were fantastic. He cupped them in his hands and flicked his tongue on each nipple until they were rock hard. He knew she was in another place by the sounds coming out of her. This was going to be fun.

He worked his way down her taught stomach with his mouth and began to feel a little nervous. His desire to taste her sweetness was strong, but his love for her stronger. Tim didn't want to do anything with Julie that she wasn't ready for. He rested his forehead on her stomach and slowed things way down. She lifted his head up and looked into his eyes.

"Don't stop." she implored.

"Jules..."

"Tim. Don't. Stop." she demanded.

With that he slowly removed her jeans and looked at her beautiful body. She was wearing just the smallest of white panties. He buried his face in them and could feel how excited she was at his attentions. He mouthed her wet mound through the fabric and as she arched her back in ecstasy he adeptly removed the last barrier that stood between them. Plunging his tongue into her depths, he dug his fingers into her flesh. She threw her legs around his neck and drove his face deeper into her with her hands. Tim felt her nails digging into his scalp as his tongue expertly brought her to her climax.

* * *

The couple took their time getting dressed, sharing tender kisses and touches. Tim took Julie by the hand and helped her from the bed of the truck. He gently spun her around and started slow dancing to a song on the radio. Tim reached out for her face and held it gently in his hand while placing a warm kiss on her mouth.

"I love you, Julie Taylor."

She looked into his eyes and replied, "I love you too, Timothy Riggins."

**AN: Many thanks to those of you who took the time to review. I greatly appreciate your thoughts and praises for my first ever FF. I hope the finale didn't disappoint. Cheers, Scarlett**


End file.
